Stove tile of yellow-lead glazed earthenware: 16th century

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Stove tile of yellow-lead glazed earthenware body of Border ware, bearing the Royal Arms and ER Cipher for Elizabeth I with the Tudor Rose. This stove tile was made in the Surrey-Hampshire border, England. Ceramic tiles were also used to line stoves designed to heat the rooms of large houses. These stoves were a status symbol, and the tiles that covered them were therefore highly decorated. The tiles show human and animal figures, floral designs, and also the crests or initials of the house owner. They were usually glazed with a green glaze.